The Batman Strikes
The Batman Strikes is an animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman. The series usually aired on Saturday mornings from September 11, 2004, through March 8, 2008, during the Kids' WBtelevision block. Synopsis The man is known as Batman, the costumed protector of Gotham City, is teenage billionaire, Bruce Wayne (voiced by Rino Romano). Batman began two years prior to the start of the series, and the Gotham City police do not publicly acknowledge the vigilante's existence. Operating out of a secret lair underneath Bruce Wayne's mansion — known as the Bat cave — Batman and his butler, Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by Alastair Duncan), stop crime with the assistance of high-tech gadgets and a supercomputer. Season 1 At the start of the first season, crime in Gotham is at an all-time low, but the police commissioner James Gordon (voiced by Kurtwood Smith) orders his officers to apprehend Batman when possible. This marks the first acknowledgment of Batman's existence in the series. Despite the commissioner's orders, his daughter Barbara and son James Jr. believes Batman is needed in the city. The Batman's reimagined villains introduced in this season include Rupert Thorne (voiced by Victor Brandt), the Joker (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson), the Penguin (voiced by Tom Kenny), Catwoman (voiced by Gina Gershon), Mr. Freeze (voiced by Clancy Brown), Firefly (voiced by Jason Marsden), Man-Bat (voiced by Peter MacNicol), Cluemaster (voiced by Glenn Shadix), and Bane (voiced by Joaquim de Almeida) Episodes Season 1 # "Bat In The Belfry"-James Gordon the police commissioner sets up a task force to capture the Batman after he publicly acknowledges his existence when Batman stops a heist performed by Killer Croc. Soon afterwards, a break-out of inmates at Arkham Asylum leads Batman to discovering that the culprit is a crazed clown criminal calling himself Joker, who has a gas that cause victims to be left paralysed and with a fixed, yellow-teeth smile on their faces. Batman quickly discovers that Joker plans to use the gas on Gotham City and attempts to stop him, with Gordon eager to do the same. During this time, Batman is pursued by Floyd Lawton, Garfield Lynns, and Ricardo Diaz, who have been tasked by a mysterious individual to take the Batman out. # "Thunder"-Bruce Wayne attempts to tutor Helena Bertinelli while Batman tries to stop Maxie, a technology entrepreneur, billionaire, and Greek and Roman history fanatic, would seek to take control of Gotham, but it does when he looks set to lose to Mayor Grange during a mayoral election. Using a giant aircraft called New Olympus that is equipped with a powerful weapon and manned by his personal security force of "Gladiators", he soon threatens the city leaving Batman to stop him. # "The Man Who Would Be Bat"-While pursuing Batman, James Gordon and his partner Ellen Yin find themselves drawn to Wayne Industries by a flock of bats. The pair quickly learn that they are connected to a project being worked upon by a scientist named Dr. Langstrom, who claims to Bruce and Lucius Fox that his work is to help cure those who are deaf. In reality, Langstrom, obsessed with the Batman, is actually developing a serum to make himself into a giant beast called "Man-Bat" that needs to feed on animal blood. With Man-Bat out of control, Batman must stop him before he changes from animals to humans for sustenance and things get worse when Gordon is abducted by the Man-Bat. # "The Big Heat"-Bruce finds out from a meeting with Gotham's mayor, Marion Grange, that the contract for work on the children's hospital is likely to go to GothCorp owner Jack White instead of Wayne Enterprises, despite his father's charity work. At the same time, a spate of break-ins at tech firms leads Batman to meeting Firefly, a criminal who uses flame-based weaponry, a heavily armoured suit, a potently enhanced jetpack, to carry out his crimes. When Bruce fails to sway the city council to not go with GothCorp, owing to their dubious background, he soon discovers they may be connected to the break-ins and soon lays a trap to catch Firefly. Jack is visited by Black Mask, who tells him that his mysterious employer wishes for him to create supervillains to distract the Batman. # "Feat of Clay"-As Bruce Wayne and Ethan Bennett try out for the basketball team, Batman must face convict Basil Karlos, newly transformed into Clay-Face in order to kill Batman. In the end, Bruce and Ethan do not make the team but decide to play basketball together on their own. # "Blockbuster"-Bruce struggles to get a date for the school dance and to figure out a way to pay for it. Meanwhile, the unstoppable Blockbuster, the latest of Jack White's creations, has sworn vengeance on Batman. Batman takes the battle directly to the source of his troubles, the previously invisible hand, who has been secretly conducting his villain-of-the-week attacks. After finding out who has been calling the shots, Batman confronts Thorne Enterprises CEO and mobster Rupert Thorne. Thorne offers an alliance to Batman in order to reduce Gotham's crime rate, however, Batman refuses prompting Thorne to alert Yin and Gordon claiming that Batman assaulted his employees and was trespassing his property and attacked his bodyguards. Yin and Gordon try to arrest Batman only for Batman to escape. Bruce goes on a date to the school dance with Vicki Vale, which is set up by Alfred. # "Topsy Turpsy"-On the night of the Hamilton Hill High school dance, Vicki threatens to invert Hamilton Hill's social structure. Elsewhere, the Joker kidnaps a judge in league with Rupert Thorne and encases as well as paralyzes him in a large playing-card styled box, bears all the hallmarks of him, yet it soon transpires that an orderly was coerced to do the deeds. Realising that Joker is going after everyone who is in league with Rupert Thorne, Batman finds himself on a race against time before his other victims share the same fate as the judge. Rupert Thorne struggles when the Joker wishes for him to step down as the big mafia boss in Gotham City. # "The Big Chill"-Batman pursues a jewel thief named Victor Fries only for the Joker to cause an accident at Gothcorp that makes Fries have ice powers. Renaming himself as Mr. Freeze, Fries forces Jack White to build a cryogenic suit to survive. To his horror, Batman discovers who Mr. Freeze truly is. Realising that Freeze's powers will allow him to take over Gotham, Batman finds himself trying to find a way to stop him. # "Date Night"-On Valentine's Day, Bruce Wayne jeopardizes his relationship with girlfriend Helena Bertinelli when Rupert Thorne, Noah Kuttler, and Franco Bertinelli call a Valentine's Day Summit. The Joker manipulates Black Mask into betraying everyone with the promise that Black Mask will replace Rupert Thorne as the new head of the Gotham City underworld. Batman is then forced to dismantle the gang war. Helena becomes devastated upon seeing that her father Franco is a mobster and Franco becomes devastated that his daughter found out this why even though he and his wife Maria Panessa swore that they would never make Helena find out. Rupert Thorne makes bail only to be shocked to discover the Joker orchestrated all of this while impersonating Black Mask. Because Amanda Waller and the Agency are putting Thorne under surveillance, the Joker is free to take over the organization. # "Call of The Cobblepot"-A spate of thefts involving vultures, owls and crows that steal jewels, leaves Batman determined to discover who the culprit is. He soon learns that the culprit is Oswald Cobblepot (aka Penguin), a small time thug that Gordon knew in his past. In flashbacks, a young James Gordon and his partner Harvey Bullock are forced by mafia boss Carmine Falcone to assassinate the young Cobblepot. Against the orders from Bullock and Falcone, Gordon fakes Cobblepot's death telling him never to return to Gotham. Cobblepot gatecrashes a party being hosted by Lucius. As Batman tries to apprehend him, matters become complicated when Gordon is captured by Penguin when Gordon discovers that he is back in Gotham. # "The Cat & The Bat"-Batman encounters a new foe in the form of a skilled thief named Catwoman, who recently attempted to steal a figurine from a mobster named Salvatore Maroni, someone that Batman has recently been investigating. When his utility belt is stolen by her, he soon faces problems in the Bat-Cave, before discovering that she plans to use his remote-controlled batarang to make a second attempt on the figurine, unaware that Maroni is secretly a mobster wishing to take back control of the criminal underworld from the Joker. # "The Rubberface of Comedy"-Joker returns to Gotham with new henchmen, and commits crimes through the use of a new invention called Joker putty, a chemical compound that morphs anything and everything into either springy rubber or putty. Mob bosses Sal Maroni, Gambol, and the Chechen hold a video conference with Rupert Thorne to discuss what to do with the Joker. The Joker interrupts and warns them that Batman is unhindered by the law, offering to kill him in exchange for their loyalty. The mob ultimately decides to take the Joker up on his offer.As Bruce prepares to don the cape to stop him, he starts to wonder if he should reveal himself as The Batman to his friend Ethan. Meanwhile, Rojas implements a zero-tolerance policy on freaks, and instructs his detectives to arrest both Joker and Batman, but matters take a turn for the worse when Ethan is captured by Joker and tortured by him. Batman saves Ethan from the Joker and unmasks him to be Jack White. # "The Clayface of Tragedy"-Ethan is horrified to see himself melt and transform into a putty-like monster that the police attempt to stop, earning the name "Clayface". Both Batman and Gordon realise that Joker's invention caused the change, and soon find themselves working together to stop him when he decides to use his newfound powers to go after the Joker. Season Two # "Ragdoll To Riches"-It's early December, and the first snow is falling. Batman discovers that both he and Catwoman have a new problem in the form of Ragdoll, a triple-jointed contortionist who seeks to steal priceless artifacts. While not as their alter egos, Selina Kyle opts to befriend Bruce Wayne, though their evening together is short-lived when Ragdoll turns up again. Eager to beat him, Batman decides to lay a trap to lure both him and Catwoman, with the bait being some priceless gems a gangster hid in one of the Wayne family's properties - a clock tower. Rag Doll is revealed to be in the pocket of a criminal mastermind named the Calculator. # "Fire & Ice"-Batman discovers that Firefly and Mr. Freeze have teamed up to steal several pieces of technology across the city, including from Wayne Enterprises. It soon becomes clear that Mr. Freeze plans to ensure the Winter that the city is enduring is a permanent season when he sets about using the technology and the Gotham's heating system to freeze every city block, beginning with the policeman's gala charity ball. # "Reinforcements"-As Christmas approaches, the Calculator recruits Clay-Face, Blockbuster, Maxie Zeus, Bane, and Rag Doll. All they want for Christmas is Batman — destroyed. Meanwhile, Bruce learns to focus in order to improve his relationship with Helena and if he wants to stay alive. # "The Uprising"-It's New Year's Eve, and the Calculator and his henchmen are planning to take over the world. With the plan ready to execute the Calculator appears on every television in Gotham City telling the people to take back freedom from the corruption of their leaders, the ones who oppress them for their own gain and fills people’s computers with sensitive information on government activates which sparks a full-blown revolution. Additionally the city's power grids shut down disabling the response capabilities of the G.C.P.D. and Homeland Security In the space of an hour people quickly succumb to killing each other to take back what’s theirs in what's called the "uprising". Both Batman and Commissioner Gordon are helpless to do anything but watch the city fall, When Alfred is injured, Batman takes the fight to the Calculator's lair. But once he gets there, can he survive? # "Growing Pains"-In the aftermath, the city is restored to order and Gordon as commissioner promises to make Gotham City free of the corruption and make it a place people are glad to call home. Kuttler is tried, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The new school year begins with Bruce getting invited to Cash Tankenson's birthday party. Unfortunately, Clay-Face has returned and is framing Batman. Meanwhile, alien spores infect James Gordon Jr, increasing his size, strength and mass. Gordon convinces his son to become a superhero, to capture Batman only to go out of control when Gordon begins to have doubts that Batman is responsible for the crimes performed by Clay-Face. Batman manages to lure James Jr. to the science museum where he electrocutes him to get the spores off. The spores come off, however, James Jr. is sent to Arkham Asylum due to having gone insane from the ordeal. Although Gordon's wife blames Batman, Gordon doesn't. # Category:Animation